The creative critic's paradise

Tag Archives: Visual Graphic

You open the Word document, or the Illustrator page, or whatever it may be. It is oppressively white, it’s blankness at once demanding and withholding.

Or, even worse, it’s filled with what you know are wonderful, groundbreaking ideas that are just missing one thing, one little point that would pull them all together and make the work whole, complete, if only you could figure out what that one thing was…Meanwhile, the weight of the content and all its potential, its expectations, weigh on your heart, crushing your defenseless soul…

Wipe the tears from your eyes, for there is hope. Fear not, dear reader! I have scoured the Internet, searching for relief and hope for those of us who struggle and strive, and I have found the LIGHT!

Or, in the language of one less melodramatic…

Basically I compiled a list of websites that I like to use when I’m feeling uninspired and burned out. Hopefully you’ll find them to be helpful as well!

This one is probably obvious, by WordPress.com has a daily prompts blog. These one word prompts are particularly good for when you find yourself reusing the same words over and over again, your vocabulary stilted and stunted. The blog also includes blogging tips and encourages readers to share links to their works.

Another good prompts blog is First 50 Words – these prompts come from author Virginia DeBolt and are really good because she includes her own interpretation, for those of us who need a little more detail, a little more description. Let’s Write puts up quote prompts, which can be particularly helpful when you’re struggling with a character or a scene.

Speaking of uncooperative characters, if you’re having trouble developing the details of a scene or characterization, drop by F*** Yeah Character Development. It’s an ask-answer blog about writing characters, and it also regularly posts information and insight related to world-building and other aspects of the writing process. I’ve never asked a question, and given how many they receive I’m not sure this would be the best idea. Instead, I find that just reading the questions and answers can stimulate my mind and open me up to new possibilities. Some of their latest questions include: “In a zombie apocalypse what threats would there be to humans other than the rabid monsters?” “How do you succeed in making readers like a character who’s actually a total, unapologetic asshole/villain?” and (this is a good question for all of us to consider) “How many main characters do you think is too many?”

Monkey see, monkey do (hopefully)

Sometimes when we’re writing, it can be easy to forego the visual aspect in favor of a focus on the written word. But, not to discriminate against the other senses, but sight is one of the most important ones, and visual stimulation can be really helpful as a source of inspiration, pushing you to step away from the often abstract world of language and really think about how your work, well, works in the real world.

Of course, if you’re an actual artist or graphic designer, visual work is probably crucial for you to get those creative juices flowing, as unfortunate a mental image as that may be.

Photography can be a major source of inspiration, and one really great blog that I found through WordPress Discover is Picturize by Yuki Iwaoka:

“Suck Me In” by Yuki Iwaoka.

Visual Graphc is a design blog that I love for the diversity of what it features. It’s mostly graphic design, but there is a huge diversity in the fonts, the styles, the color schemes – every single entry is different. If you’re creating a poster or a brochure or really anything, Visual Graphc can give you ideas for how put different colors, fonts, and design elements together to create something engaging and unique.

Eat Sleep Draw and F*** Yeah Illustrative Art are illustration curation sites that post submitted artwork in a wide spectrum of styles. Renee B. is the brains behind F*** Yeah Illustrative Art, using her own artistic background to create an impressive collection, adding new pieces every day. Eat Sleep Draw describes itself as an online gallery, showing everything from classical portraits to more fantastical pieces.

Where do you go for inspiration? Leave your resources in the comments!